The Giants and the 49ers play this week, another installment of what has historically been a great rivalry. In my weekly ranking of the games, I put this showdown as No. 2. The storylines, literally, are endless. But one thing that I take issue with revolves around Giants star WR Victor Cruz and his salsa-dancing ways. See, 49ers DB Carlos Rogers had said he likes Cruz’s signature dance, but that he would imitate it after a big play. And Cruz responded that he wouldn’t like that one bit. He got pretty fired up. Later, when Rogers found out that Cruz’s dance is an homage to his late grandmother, he backed off. That’s cool. I love how Cruz honors the woman who […]

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones got a call from the league informing him of his Week 1 opponent. Turned out, it would be a few days before the opening Sunday. The Cowboys are set to play the Giants on Wednesday to kick-start the 2012 season, and Jones is pumped. Not only is his team on national TV (which he loves), but they get to begin the process of righting last year’s wrong against the team that booted them from contention. “Starting at that level of consequence is quite a challenge,” Jones said. First impressions can go a long way, and the Cowboys are hoping to create a positive one during a season in which they believe they field a much different and […]

The New York Giants got a big boost last week when it became clear that WR Hakeem Nicks was healthy enough to play against the Dallas Cowboys in the opener. The star receiver, who had 1,192 receiving yards last year and seven touchdowns, broke his foot during the spring. The fact that he’s off the physically unable to perform list and ready to roll is impressive. But… how effective will he be? I talked to Nicks about his health while he was doing a promotional appearance for New Era hats, for whom he is a spokesman. And if there’s one thing I learned, it’s that none of this is surprising to him. “Honestly, I could have almost been ready to […]

I thought it would be funny. Figured it was a joke of some kind. I clicked on the video provided by Pro Football Talk of Giants veterans throwing second-year CB Prince Amukamara into the ice cold tub, and I waited for the comedy. None came. In the explicit video (which you can watch if you can stand the language and embarrassing nature of it all), pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul is shown tossing Amukamara into a freezing cold tub while his teammates taunt and laugh. Apparently, this has happened before, many times. He estimated eight times last year, and he also had his clothes cut up. No, Amukamara is not a rookie anymore, and this isn’t some sort of welcome-to-the-NFL deal (though […]

And finally, the dramatic conclusion to my interview yesterday with Giants DE Justin Tuck. You’ve read his thoughts on the injury to Cowboys TE Jason Witten, and you’ve seen the funny conversation we had before hanging up. But Tuck also talked business. Just like his coach Tom Coughlin, Tuck is mindful of those who don’t really think his team will be very good. He hears — but doesn’t focus on — those who think the Giants didn’t actually win in the playoffs last year. If Tuck took all of that to heart, well, he wouldn’t be out there. “I’m looking at it this way… if I listened to what most of your peers say, then I’ll probably sit down and […]

I hate to admit it, but I spend a lot of time on Twitter cracking up at the New York Giants beat writers. They are good, hilarious, kinda moronic and mostly awesome. Dudes like @TomRock_Newsday, @mikegarafolo, @NotoriousOHM, and @RVacchianoNYDN were at it Tuesday, reporting on the ridiculous saga of the team’s uncomfortable training-camp beds. Turns out, those mattresses in Albany (pictured from Rock’s Twitter with Garafolo ailing) have given plenty of players bad backs. As the famous poet Martellus Bennett told reporters, “You can’t put a damn dinosaur in a twin-size bed.” And man, is he right. Besides the fact that this is what passes for controversy in the quietest camp in America, this had me laughing all day. But as I […]

Training camp is around the corner, and in a month and a half, we’ll be scattered around the country reporting from these locales. As yesterday reminded me, I am already amped up to get it started. I mean, what could be better than showing up at a camp, checking in on the key players… And reporting who is fat and who isn’t. You can all thank the Martellus Bennett saga this week — where his weight was called into question and elicited a fantastic response — for putting me in this mind frame. Can’t help it, sorry. For those who don’t know, Bennett was called out for being 291 pounds by a coach. He then conducted an interview shirtless, asking […]